Epidemiological Study of Food Poisoning Cases from 2013 to 2021, in Diyala Province, Iraq

Abstract

Food poisoning is the disease of toxic or infectious nature resulting or suspected to be resulting from consumption of water or food. There are significantly underestimated cases of foodborne diseases, and relatively few well-investigated outbreaks are revealed, though these often give information on etiological agents and the reason behind contaminations. This retrospective case study of collective food poisoning was designed to the establishment of a database inherent to food poisoning specific for Diyala province / Iraq during the period between 2013-2021. The results show that, between 2013-2021, 5 outbreaks of food poisoning were observed in Diyala province involving 1188 cases (327 hospitalized & 0 deaths). The data in the study will give information on the present situation and epidemiological evolution during the period of the study. Female predominance was shown among the samples included in the study (Sex ratio M/F = 0.85), and (54% of cases were female, and 46% of cases were male)